ONE year already?!

We can't believe a year has gone by since Carrie joined our family! It has been so wonderful to see how she has brought a sparkle to our days. I have really enjoyed this little sweetheart. The older kids all love to help her--whether it's feeding her or practicing to walk next to her or reading her a story. She has brought us all much joy this year!

Here are some of the moods we caught a glimpse of on Carrie's big day: PRIDE...it's MY birthday!

JOY...it's great to be alive!

ANTICIPATION...when do I get to eat that cake?

and FEAR...(she does have some of me in her, after all! :)

And other random pictures...including a few taken today to document our doctor's appointment and diagnosis of Chicken Pox. Yep...that's right! Some kids actually DO still get Chicken Pox, and Caroline was one of those lucky ones who got it just under the wire. She was due for the vaccination in just 3 months. But anyway...I had noticed a few spots yesterday, and today when she woke up they had spread all over the side of her head and neck. Now I'm starting to see faint spots on her legs and wrist...oh boy.

Her stats:
Weight: 22 lbs. 4 oz.--75th %
Height: 30.1"--90th %
Head: 47.4 cm--95th %





(And...a note to those of you who have realized my sin of omission here. Yes, it was Eliza's birthday this week also, and since her party is tomorrow, I thought I'd wait and post her birthday highlights after we finish celebrating!)

why she likes babysitters

We were eating lunch today and I thought it would be a good opportunity to get the scoop on how things had gone with the babysitter we had over the weekend. Not that I was worried--this was our favorite babysitter, and she's GREAT with kids and does remarkably well with all four of ours--but I just wanted a few details.

So, as I ate my leftover stew, I asked Rachel how they behaved for Nicole. She said they were good. I asked if she fussed at her a lot. Nope, none of that. (Phew...) She told me they played Blokus while Eliza was practicing the piano. She and the babysitter watched Seth play Star Wars LEGOS. She then confessed that she and Eliza had eaten 2 Chips Ahoy cookies. No big shocker. I'd already noticed that there was a dent in those.

Rachel told me that the babysitter let Caroline crawl under the kitchen table. Ewww...but that's only my fault that it hadn't been freshly mopped.

What got me (and was the impetus for the post) was our last point of discussion. I asked her why she liked having a babysitter. She told me she was nice. I said, "Well, I'm nice. Dad's nice." She agreed. Then we got to the heart of the matter. She hushed her voice and leaned across the table and told me, "Mom...I hate to tell you this, but when we have a babysitter, we get to do whatever we want."

Oh, the honesty of a 5 year old. I hope she can stay as open with me when she's 15.

west potomac park

What a gorgeous fall afternoon to take a quick trip into DC! We decided the kids and I deserved to see the new DC office where James has worked so hard over the past 2 weeks to have the technology ready for opening day. So, after posing with George Mason, we headed to see the Jefferson Memorial--one we had not seen to date. It was such a beautiful setting, right there next to the Potomac! I think this one has become our favorite!

(Pleeease...if anyone knows how to rotate pictures in Blogger, let me know. I HATE not being able to post vertical pictures...it's so limiting. :)